


Untouchable

by miss_aligned



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Mass Effect 1, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-22
Updated: 2016-06-22
Packaged: 2018-07-16 14:45:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7272382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miss_aligned/pseuds/miss_aligned
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(Thanks to <a href="http://purplehawkewtf.tumblr.com/">@purplehawkewtf</a> for the prompt!)</p><p>Shepard is trying to concentrate, do her job, and save the galaxy, but a distraction is making that a little more difficult.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Untouchable

“Yeah. Whatever,” Shepard responded with no small amount of frustration before pounding on the console to cut contact. The images of the equally annoyed Council members flickered and vanished. While much of the galaxy would have been appalled by the way she often dared to talk to them, she couldn’t help but think they deserved it. Most of the time, anyway.

There really was no end to their hard-headed reactions to just about everything she reported. She wondered, as she glanced around the now significantly darkened room, why they even bothered to appoint Spectres if they weren’t going to listen or respond to any of the information or evidence found. Somehow, she’d managed to be recruited into an organization even more frustrating than the Alliance.

Lucky her.

The annoyed commander picked up a datapad knowing that, speaking of the Alliance, they were going to want a report, too. She didn’t bother entertaining the idea that they would be any more receptive or reactionary than the Council, but it was part of the job.

As the door slid open for her, Shepard almost didn’t look up in time to see a figure standing on the other side. When she did, she brought herself to an abrupt halt just before impact, not even taking a moment to register just who it was.

“Commander,” his velvety voice soothed even the most frayed nerves.

“Lieutenant,” she responded, desperately trying to keep her tone even and calm despite their insanely close proximity at that moment. She could hear his breathing, feel his warmth, and being so near made it really damned difficult to resist moving just a little bit further.

He didn’t budge. Kaidan stood still and steady where he was, and it felt like he was almost daring her to do something about it. She wasn’t sure whether to be irritated or thrilled by it, but her subconscious was certainly leaning to one side more than the other. Somehow even the scent of soap and aftershave on his skin was intoxicating.

Shepard gently cleared her throat, willing herself to focus. “Did you need me?”

“I suppose you could say that,” Kaidan responded. The way he said the words struck her as unusual. Her gaze snapped to his face and she realized with some surprise that she might have been better off choosing her phrasing more carefully. There was a mischievous gleam in his eye and a gentle flush in his cheeks as he studied her. It was a look that made her weak in the knees, like she was the most important and precious thing in the galaxy.

The intensity and sincerity of that expression almost made her believe it.

Her catlike reflexes were noticeably dulled in his presence, Shepard realized, as Kaidan moved to delicately relieve her of the datapad she’d forgotten she’d been holding. He let it drop to the floor and closed what small distance remained between them. Her logical mind screamed at her to move, to remind him of fraternization regs, to stop him before he endangered his career. Her heart, however, longed for more, for his arms to wrap around her, for his lips to find hers, for everything. The indomitable commander was paralyzed by the internal warring between two extremes and thus remained indecisively rooted to the spot.

He gave her plenty of time to react, she knew, but she hadn’t taken advantage of it as any seasoned officer might be expected. When she felt his battle-roughened hands slide around her hips and his fingertips just beginning to caress the bare skin of her waist, she was terrified. Still, she’d unknowingly leaned toward him as he dipped and tilted his head. Her eyes closed, fully expecting that she was about to pass out from anticipation. Even if she hadn’t really allowed herself to consider the possibilities, having him here and making a definitive move made her realize that it was something that she wanted. Very much.

She nearly forgot how to think as his lips moved away from her own and began blazing a trail down the column of her throat. Everywhere he touched set her skin on fire in the most pleasurable way imaginable and she was sure she’d lose her mind before he was done.

When she opened her eyes again, Shepard was no longer in the same dark room. Her limbs were tangled in the sheets and she had to take a moment to calmly breathe and reacquaint herself with the present. Her experience with the prothean beacon on Eden Prime had certainly affected her dreams, making them far more vivid, but that one…

Shepard sighed as she scrubbed her hands over her face. While she was thankful to have a dream that didn’t involve guns and death and the destruction of an ancient race, envisioning even good things with such an intense sense of realism could be painful. Somehow, letting oneself think that happiness was so tangible and simple to obtain was just cruel. Her mind had become a terrible tease.

The commander sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed, knowing that she was going to have to pretend that she didn’t want anything in that dream to play out in real life. Her traitorous heart was making work with her lieutenant difficult, but she couldn’t let him know. She’d already gone too far with playful flirting, but that had never meant anything when she’d done it in the past. It was always just a fun, momentary diversion from the real task at hand. With Alenko, however, it had somehow and without her recognizing it, become quite serious.

Damn it.

She rose to stand, groggily moving towards the bathroom to clean up and start the day. There was no way she was going to allow herself to fall asleep after that little fiasco, after all. As the commander made her way through the room, she reminded herself to stay away from prothean technology whenever possible, because it certainly didn’t agree with her. She hadn’t realized how flushed her skin was until she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Only then did she declare the entire situation absolutely ridiculous. No man was allowed to affect her in such a way, no matter how charming or adorable or courteous or wonderful.

Selecting a clean uniform and changing into it, she tried desperately to adopt the mindset of a proper soldier. She knew the rules. She was trained to follow them. She’d chosen this life and, unfortunately, sometimes it wasn’t fair. Once they wrapped up this mess with Saren and Sovereign, she might ponder these silly, superfluous matters of the heart, but for now Shepard simply had to do her job. If nothing else, she could focus on that for just a little while longer.

The ship was quiet as she made her way to the mess in desperate need of coffee. She knew she was doomed the moment she caught sight of the familiar, toned frame just now pouring himself a cup. She froze there for a moment as a strange but telling fluttery feeling rose up in her gut. Curse her fickle mind and heart.

Kaidan glanced up at her and offered that captivating little half-smile she knew so well. “Good morning,” he quietly commented. “Sleep well?”

Oh, if he only knew.


End file.
